SOMER RENEE THOMPSON - 7 yo - Clay County FL

They are trees of life. And death. Of hopes and dreams. Of loss and despair. Around
and taped to the two oaks across the street from Somer Renee Thompson's
home is an ever-widening collection of candles, posters, balloons,
flowers and hundreds of stuffed animals - a tribute to a little girl
lost then found in a Georgia landfill, a life cut short by an unknown
evil. The growing memorial began shortly after the 7-year-old
disappeared Monday while walking home from school with friends in her
suburban neighborhood. Back then, the posters said things like "Somer
Please Come Home" and "Amber Alert" - signs of hope the girl would be
found. Many of those signs are still there, but alongside are
messages of despair and vengeance, of heaven and angels, that began
appearing Wednesday when Somer's body was found at the Folkston, Ga.,
landfill where her neighborhood's trash ends up. The signs track the
police investigation, from missing child to murder. "Our Joy Left Upon This Mound." "Justice For Somer." "Whoever Did This, We Are Going To Get You." The
massive memorial is the first thing Somer's family sees when walking
out the front door in the morning, the last thing before locking up at
night. It's become a gathering spot for well-wishers, reporters and the nightly vigil that has drawn perfect strangers to the spot. Saturday
night, a woman set up luminarias on the street, and a young boy handed
out candles for the dozens of people gathered. Drivers in a steady
stream of cars shouted "We love you." "I haven't been able to
think about anything else," said Lori Childers, who traveled from her
home in Riverside to deliver a teddy bear and a card. She doesn't know
Somer's family, but raised three children of her own and wanted to do
what she could. She wished she could do more, like find the killer. 'We're coming for you' Detectives
have finished gathering evidence at the landfill and the vacant home
near where she was last seen, police said Saturday. It is being
processed by labs in Florida and Georgia. But there was no news on whether they are any closer to identifying who killed Somer. "We're
coming for you, buddy," Somer's mother, Diena Thompson, said Saturday
night after thanking those who showed up for the vigil and leading them
in "You Are My Sunshine," Somer's favorite song. "Detectives are
busting their ***** to find it, because it's an it." Afterward, the gatherers, many of them children, stayed behind and sang impromptu songs of hope. Clay
County Sheriff Rick Beseler is hoping the investigation gets a boost
from the Fox Television show "America's Most Wanted," which has put
together a segment on Somer and is featuring the case on its Internet
site. It was unclear Saturday when the TV segment would run. And
the reward pot grew as an Orange Park business owner chipped in $2,500
to the $30,000 being offered by Crime Stoppers and the Justice
Coalition for information leading to a suspect. Howard Cummins of
Howard Construction challenged other businesses to do the same. Clay
County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Mary Justino said investigators
have received 1,100 tips, 200 of which remain active. More than 2,000
people have been contacted by investigators, and 50 have been directly
interviewed. Dominick Pape, special agent-in-charge of the
Florida Department of Law Enforcement office in Jacksonville, said
investigators have ruled out any connection between a reported
abduction attempt Oct. 10 in the same area and Somer's Oct. 19
disappearance. He said the blue Nissan reported in that case belongs to
an FDLE member who stopped to help the girl after she almost got hit by
a car and stayed with her until determining she was safe. Diena
Thompson met Saturday morning with Bruce Tarkington, the pastor who
will conduct Somer's funeral at First Baptist Church of Orange Park. "They
spent the morning talking about Somer ... sharing stories about her so
that Pastor Tarkington could speak from his heart at the services,"
Justino said. The family is asking people to bring purple balloons to release after Tuesday's funeral.

Reward
First Coast Crime Stoppers and the Justice
Coalition announced a combined reward of $32,500 for tips leading to an
arrest and conviction in the case. Call the Sheriff's Office at (877)
227-6911 or Crime Stoppers at (866) 845-8477 (845-TIPS) to remain
anonymous or e-mail CART@claysheriff.com.
How to contribute
Anyone interested in assisting the family with expenses related to Somer's
death can do so at any area VyStar Credit Union. A bank account has
been set up in the name of Somer Thompson with the account number
0702794000. Residents and businesses wishing to donate to the reward
should contact the Justice Coalition at (904) 783-6312 or Crime
Stoppers at (866) 845-8477 (845-TIPS). The Justice Coalition also has
set up an account, number 3123504437, for people to donate to the
reward at two Ameris Bank locations in Jacksonville - 888 Lane Ave. and
4835 Town Center Parkway.
Rally
A rally and fundraiser in support of the family will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today
at the Orange Park Town Hall, 2042 Park Ave. There will be an auction,
bounce house, bake sale and more.
Funeral
Visitation (open): 5 to 8 p.m. Monday at First Baptist Church of Orange Park, 1140 Kingsley Ave. Memorial service (open): 11 a.m. Tuesday at same location.Graveside service and burial (private): Tuesday,
immediately following memorial service, Jacksonville Memory Gardens,
111 Blanding Blvd., Orange Park (procession from Kingsley Avenue to
Blanding Boulevard to cemetery property). Reception (private): Tuesday, immediately following burial, First Baptist Church of Orange Park.

Arms large and small wrapped consolingly around the shoulders of
Somer Renee Thompson’s family as they sat near her casket at a viewing
Monday for the Orange Park girl. At 5 p.m. hundreds of people
waited outside the First Baptist Church of Orange Park to go inside,
where the 7-year-old girl’s body had arrived two hours earlier and was
surrounded by floral bouquets of mostly purple accented by reds and
whites and pinks. A signed poster stood on the floor. Monday was
a week since the community was rocked by her disappearance as she
walked home from Grove Park Elementary School. Then a second bombshell
fell when her body was found in a Georgia landfill two days later. Monday,
parents brought children and waited as the procession moved along
church aisles, then signed guest books before giving the family hugs. Hal
Runnfeldt lives outside Orange Park and brought his 11-year-old son,
Kyle, to the viewing after the two talked about the service on the way
to school Monday morning. He said what happened to Somer brings home the need to be protective. “It’s not fair but it’s the reality,” he said. “So much has happened, from the hope to the reality.”At
one point, Somer’s mother, Diena Thompson, left the hall with her
boyfriend for a break in the greetings, Pastor David Tarkington said. “They’re here,” he said to the procession. “We’re just trying to make sure they are safe.” Photos
of the first-grader flashed on screens overhead in the worship center.
Another portrait photo stood on the closed brown wood casket. Many of the mourners did not know the family but were deeply affected by the week’s events.“This
is the first time in the nine years that I’ve lived here that something
like this has happened,” said Leah Davis. “Now that is taken from us.
That is a very uncomfortable feeling.” An autopsy has determined
how Somer died and what the cause was but that information is not being
released. Authorities have also finished searching a vacant house
partway between the school and Somer’s home and near where she was last
seen. For days, parents visited an ever expanding memorial of
stuffed animals and candles across from the girl’s home. There, they
told their children a “bad man or a bad woman” had done this or that
other children were bringing favorite toys to leave in her memory. The
memorial that was maintained by neighbors for nearly a week was
dismantled Sunday night. The intent was to then tag the toys with
Somer’s name and distribute them in the community. Today,
Tarkington will officiate at an 11 a.m. memorial service that will be
open to the public prior to a private graveside service and burial at
Jacksonville Memory Gardens in Orange Park. The community
outpouring has been so great it was unknown if the 1,500-seat capacity
and overflow area at First Baptist’s worship center would be adequate.
Officials with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office are anticipating crowds
in the magnitude of those who turned out for the return of downed pilot
Scott Speicher. The route between the church and cemetery will be closely controlled, authorities said. Clay
County Sheriff Rick Beseler said Monday that having a child abducted
and murdered is the “worst case scenario that can come along in a
sheriff’s career” and has had a powerful impact on detectives. “I’ve never seen such focus on a case,” he said. “That’s what it’s going to take to solve this.” By early afternoon Monday, 1,500 leads had been fielded. Detectives were still working 200. Beseler said while investigators were fortunate to have found Somer’s body quickly, patience will be needed. “I
don’t want people to think that just because we don’t have a suspect in
custody after a week that means this case is not going to be solved,”
he said. “We have got a tremendous amount of evidence. We have a
tremendous amount of leads.” Analysis of evidence sent to forensics labs has not been finished and will take time, Beseler said. Somer’s
casket was closed for the viewing and it was recommended her mother not
view her daughter. Thompson has a lock of her daughter’s hair. “It
just probably was better to keep the memory of her alive the last time
she saw her rather than her present condition,” Beseler said. “It’s
just a recommendation. You’ve got to remember she was in a landfill for
a couple of days.”

Hundreds of people filled the First Baptist Church of Orange Park Tuesday morning for the funeral of Somer Thompson. The
body of the 7-year-old girl was found in a Georgia landfill after she
vanished on her way home from school, and they honored her favorite
color by releasing hundreds of purple balloons into the sky.

Purple flowers adorned Somer Thompson's wooden casket and filled the floral
displays around First Baptist Church of Orange Park. Her family wore
purple ribbons on their clothing. Pastor David Tarkington called
her "a community hugger," who even hugged the crossing guard on the way
to school each day. "Somer was able to love greatly. She was also
greatly loved," Tarkington said. The north Florida girl
disappeared a week ago Monday while walking home from school. Her body
was discovered two days later in a landfill in southern Georgia. Somer's parents, Diena and Samuel Thompson, who are estranged, sat across the aisle from each other during the funeral.
The pastor said Somer loved to dance, play dress up, draw and color.
"She had a creative mind and was very imaginative," he said. "She loved people and she loved animals." Anna
Braddy, two lived two houses away from the Thompsons, said outside the
service that Somer loved to swim in her pool and play with other
children, including her 9-year-old daughter, Kayla. "She was the little sister to all the kids in the neighborhood," Braddy said.
"It has affected the whole community." Nikki Morris, a 37-year-old mother of four from Middleburg, Fla., said she
hoped the funeral would bring some closure for the community. She
said she was especially touched by Somer's death, because she has an
8-year-old daughter. Morris said the incident makes her watch over her
children. "We keep them close and tell them we love them. I
watch them a lot closer. They don't like it, but they understand it,"
she said. Afterward, a motorcade accompanied Somer's body to
Jacksonville Memory Gardens for a private graveside services for her
family and friends. The Clay County Sheriff's Office has investigated about 1,500 leads,
but have not named any suspects or people of interest.

Authorities want to talk to specific people who may unknowingly be associated with the person responsible for the death of the 7-year-old Florida girl whose body was found in a Georgia landfill after she vanished on her way home from school.

During an 11:00am press conference Wednesday, Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler asked the public's assistance in identifying people who may have exhibited certain changes or unexplained behaviors.
He listed some of the behaviors as: Leaving the area unexpectedly, missing work or routine engagements, having unexplained injuries and having an unnatural interest in the status of the investigation.

Somer Thompson was buried Tuesday.

Authorities investigated about 1,700 leads, but have not named any suspects or people of interest.

A $35,000 reward is being offered for information leading to Somer's killer.

Police in Florida urged the public
Wednesday to be suspicious of changes in behavior and appearance of
people they know — because one of them could be 7-year-old Somer
Thompson's killer.
The child disappeared Oct. 19 on her walk home from school; her body was
found two days later buried under a mound of garbage in a Georgia
landfill.
Her funeral and burial were held Tuesday.
"Yesterday was about Somer Thompson," Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler told
reporters during a brief press conference. "Today is about her killer."
Beseler, who took no questions after he gave his prepared statement, said he
needed help finding Somer's murderer from "certain people" who live
nearby.
"We have reason to believe there
are individuals in the community who have information pertinent to this
case who have not come forward ... people who may know or associate
with the offender," the sheriff said.
He asked the public to be on the lookout in particular for friends,
relatives and acquaintances who have shown changes in their patterns or
behavior since Somer was killed.
People who have suddenly left the area, missed work, suffered unexplained
injuries, or changed their appearance — by shaving or growing head or
facial hair, for example — should arouse suspicion, Beseler said.
He also encouraged those in the
community to identify anyone who has abruptly hidden or sold a cars,
acted increasingly nervous or irritable, shown unusual interest in the
case or changed alcohol consumption or sleep patterns.
Anyone with any information or tips that may be relevant is asked to call 1-877-277-6911.
The Clay County Sheriff's Office has investigated about 1,700 leads, but have not named any suspects or people of interest.

More than 2,000 calls nationwide have now been received on the
Somer Thompson tips line, said Clay County Sheriff's Office Public
Information Officer Mary Justino in a statement this morning.
Justino said Wednesday 50 law enforcement personnel from agencies
including CCSO, the U.S. Marshals Office, the FBI and the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement continue to work the case.
First-grader Somer disappeared Oct. 19 while walking home from Grove
Park Elementary School in Orange Park. After a tremendous community
response and search, her body was found two days later by police at a
Georgia landfill. She was buried Tuesday.
Also on Wednesday, at news conference, Clay County Sheriff Rick
Beseler asked the public to be alert to anyone they might know who has exhibited certain changes or unexplained behaviors.
Among those behaviors:

• Leaving the area unexpectedly
  
• Missing work or routine engagements
  
• Having unexplained injuries
  
• Having an unnatural interest in the status of the investigation
  
• Having noted increase in nervousness and irritability
  
• Sudden change in physical appearance, such as shaving off facial hair
  
• Changing vehicles
  
• Changing religious beliefs
  
• Changing sleep patterns
  
• Changing use of alcohol, drugs or cigarettes
  

If you have any information that could help investigators, all 911, or call 1-877-227-6911 or 1-866-845-TIPS. You also can email cart@claysheriff.com.

When FBI agent Larry Meyer heard that police found Somer Thompson’s
body in a Georgia landfill last week, he mobilized a group of
co-workers whose gruesome, painstaking work may reveal her killer.

Some
were gun-toting agents who regularly hunt criminals on the streets of
North Florida. Others included FBI support staff whose full-time jobs
entail photography and data analysis.

They are all part of the
Jacksonville-based FBI Evidence Response Team, a highly trained group
of forensics-fascinated folk who could run circles around any CSI
television star, though it’ll take more than an hour.

The team
put their game faces on when they got to the Folkston landfill,
focusing on finding even the smallest clue that could solve the case.
It was only days later that some felt the emotional drain of recovering
the body of the 7-year-old Orange Park girl.

Alex Silverstein felt it on his first day off.

“I
probably hugged and kissed my kids more in that one day than I have
probably in a month,” said Silverstein, 39, a 13-year agent and father
of two.

Angela Hill felt it when she set eyes on her infant son.
While Silverstein is a veteran of body recoveries, having worked as
part of a team at the Pentagon after 9/11, this was Hill’s first.

“It’s
not an easy thing to do, knowing it’s an innocent child,” said Hill,
30, an agent for 3 1/2 years. “But it’s for a greater purpose: To find
evidence; to get some answers.”

The 16-person team seeks those
answers through everything from taking crime scene photographs to
lifting fingerprints. Their arsenal includes special lighting that
spots invisible bodily fluids; a kit that lifts dust prints from a
surface using an electromagnetic charge; and a machine that can vacuum
human scent that is then tracked by bloodhounds.

They have a
stocked equipment van and a high-tech command center vehicle. They also
have a pipeline into the FBI’s state-of-the-art laboratory in Quantico,
Va., where some of the evidence collected in Somer’s case is being
analyzed.

But it’s the people on the team and their drive to
help solve cases that make the biggest difference, said Meyer, the
senior team leader and a 23-year agent.

“There’s a motivation to do more than the regular job,” said Meyer, 50.

FBI
agents, analysts and other support staff who volunteer for the team get
two weeks of forensics training and take follow-up classes. They are
responsible for scenes on federal property and in FBI cases, such as
collection of evidence during search warrants. They can spend upwards
of half their normal work week on a case such as Somer’s.

They
also assist smaller police agencies with evidence collection and body
recovery, including another Clay County case this year in which the
buried remains of a murder victim were being search for in Keystone
Heights nearly 30 years after the slaying.

“I have a great deal of confidence in them,” Clay Sheriff Rick Beseler said.

Meyer
said the team spent about six hours recovering Somer’s body and
evidence around her, then returned two days later to collect more. They
were joined at the landfill by Clay detectives and agents with the
Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

“At first it was a great disappointment because we all hoped to find her alive,” Meyer said.

“Then when we got up there, as emotional as it was for everyone, we had to get the job done.”

Team
members also worked with Clay detectives and the Florida Department of
Law Enforcement at a property on Gano Avenue where Somer disappeared.

Though the team couldn’t discuss details of the case, members said they are hopeful their work will make a difference.

“Bring people to justice. There is no more noble cause than doing that,” Silverstein said.

Poster's Note: The NG Show and HLN are reporting this person of interest in Somer's murder


A judge denied bond for a
36-year-old man after he was accused of trying to entice elementary
school children into his van as they were walking home.Police charged Kenneth Kellam with enticing a child for
indecent purposes, attempted child molestation and failure to register
as a sex offender on Monday after he was spotted near Northside
Elementary School. He made his court appearance on Thursday.A
convicted sex offender in Hillsborough, Fla., Kellam faces additional
charges of criminal attempt to commit aggravated sodomy and false
imprisonment after police found suspicious items when they searched his
van.
* * * *

Dougherty County District Attorney Greg Edwards confirmed Thursday that Clay
County, Fla., sheriff's investigators and the FBI have been made aware
of the arrest of a man here who Edwards thinks could be linked to the
death of a Florida girl, though the prosecutor says there is no
evidence directly linking him to the girl.

Edwards said his office has forwarded information on Kenneth Kellam, who was arrested
here Tuesday after following two elementary school boys home. Edwards
said it's "geographically feasible" that Kellam could have a connection
to the death of 7-year-old Somer Thompson in Florida.

"It's geographically feasible that he could have a connection to that case,
and his M.O. is similar," Edwards said. "So we have passed the
information along to the proper authorities in Florida, and the FBI has
taken an interest."

Edwards was quick to say there is no direct
link between Kellam and the Florida slaying, adding that local
authorities have acted out of due diligence to notify authorities in
Florida.

"We've been told they've received more than 1,500 tips
in that case, and this may just be another one. But we have the
obligation to report it," Edwards said.

FBI Special Agent Stephen Emmett refused to comment on what he said were the "day-to-day"
operations of investigators and would not confirm whether the FBI had
interviewed Kellam at the Dougherty County Jail.

Kellam was denied bond by Magistrate Victoria Darrisaw Thursday and was remanded
to the custody of the Dougherty County Sheriff's Office.

Authorities in Charlton County in southeast Georgia confirmed last week that the
remains of a young girl discovered in a landfill there were those of
Somer Thompson, who police believe was abducted Oct. 19 while walking
home from school.

Kellam was released from the Florida prison system in 2008 and was required to register as a sex offender.
* * * *

A judge denied bond for a 36-year-old man after he was accused of
trying to entice elementary school children into his van as they were
walking home.Kenneth Kellam was charged with two counts each of
attempting to entice a child for indecent purposes, attempted child
molestation, attempted false imprisonment, and attempted aggravated
sodomy. He will likely also face charges for failure to register as a
sex offender.Police said Kellam he tried to get 9 and 10-year
old brothers to get into his van as they walked home from Northside
Elementary School last week. He was arrested on Monday when he
approached them again.Kellam was led into court in handcuffs and
shackles for his first appearance Thursday morning. He was ordered held
without bond.A convicted sex offender in Hillsborough, Fla.,
Kellam faces additional charges of criminal attempt to commit
aggravated sodomy and false imprisonment after police found suspicious
items when they searched his van.

Here's a link to KK's FDLE Sex Offender registry page:

http://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/flyer.do?personId=67613

Thousands of tips in the hunt for a child killer have poured into the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.Officials said their Somer Thompson hotline has been ringing off the hook with tips from the Orange Park area and across the country.Deputies said they have taken around 2,400 tips as of Sunday morning, but none of them have led to a suspect.Investigators
said they have not named any persons of interest in the murder of
7-year-old Somer, who disappeared in late October while she was walking
home from school.Somer’s body was found days later in a Georgia landfill over 50 miles from her home. She was laid to rest Tuesday.If you have any information on the case, call (877) 227-6911, or e-mail CART@claysheriff.com.